National Sport

Dasaolu impresses again in Zurich

European champion James Dasaolu claimed several notable scalps as he pitted his wits against the world's best over 100 metres at the Weltklasse Diamond League meeting in Zurich on Thursday night.

Dasaolu, who claimed his first major gold medal on the same track earlier this month, clocked 10.06 seconds, into a slight headwind, to come home third, with Jamaica's Commonwealth champion Kemar Bailey-Cole winning well in 9.96secs.

British Athletics performance director Neil Black challenged his athletes to "go global" after their record-breaking European Championships and this was an encouraging start from the Londoner.

There was no Usain Bolt, who pulled out of the meeting at the weekend after deciding to bring an early end to his season, but Dasaolu still beat beat Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell, both back from their respective drug bans, along with Jamaica's Nesta Carter and Trinidad and Tobago's Richard Thompson, two more sub-10 men.

He also came out on top in his domestic duel against training partner Adam Gemili, the European 200m champion finishing a respectable fifth in 10.13s.

Dasaolu told BBC Sport: "Today was just about mixing it with the best sprinters in the world."

Gemili has had a longer season than his compatriot, also winning 100m silver at the Commonwealths while Dasaolu missed the event following his injury-delayed start to the season, and he admitted this was possibly his last race of the year.

"For me this year, I might have to call it a day," he said.

The third Briton in the race, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, was eighth in 10.31.

Chijindu Ujah, who ran 9.96 early in the season only to miss out on 100m selection for the Commonwealths and the Europeans, claimed a morale-boosting victory in the B race in 10.16.

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If Britain's male sprinters are on the up, the progress of their female counterparts is even more exciting.

They broke the British 4x100m relay record for the second time in less than two weeks, the quartet of Asha Philip, Ashleigh Nelson, Anyika Onuora and Desiree Henry clocking 42.21.

It earned them victory ahead of Jamaica and the United States. Those line-ups were not a full strength, but it could be argued neither was Britain's, with Onuora in place of Jodie Williams the change from the team which ran 42.24 to win the European title.

Britain's women have now broken a record which had stood for 34 years twice in 11 days.

Nelson, the individual European bronze medallist, was earlier sixth in 11.20 in a loaded 100m won by Veronica Campbell-Brown in 11.04.

Nijel Amos, the Botswana athlete who beat David Rudisha to the Commonwealth 800m title in Glasgow, got the better of the Kenyan Olympic champion and world record holder once again, finishing strongly to win in 1:43.77.

Rudisha did not adopt his usual front-running tactics, instead running at the back of the field for much of the race, and never looked like having the speed to chase down his rival.

He came home third in 1:43.96, with Ayanleh Souleiman of Djibouti second, just three hundredths of a second ahead.

This was a final race of a difficult season for Rudisha, who only resumed training, following the serious knee injury which ruined his 2013 campaign, in March. And that hampered preparation has told.

Rudisha, who won over 600m in Birmingham last Sunday, told BBC Sport: "It has been a tough season for me. I am happy I have ended the season and am looking forward to next year."

Another European champion, Tiffany Porter, was third in the 100m hurdles in 12.72.

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